


4 Weeks

by CosmoQueen



Category: Teen Top (Band)
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-28
Updated: 2014-03-29
Packaged: 2018-01-17 11:48:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1386517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CosmoQueen/pseuds/CosmoQueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As a new year begins, Jonghyun's relationship with his best friend goes through changes after he confesses his feelings to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

** _"Honesty is the best policy." Minsoo says._ **

** _"Friends don't keep secrets from each other." Chanhee says._ **

** _He knew they were right but what if telling the truth could possibly ruin everything that means the most in your life?_ **

 

Choi Jonghyun knew he had done just that. He knew his friendship and career were now pretty much destroyed just because he took advice from his hyungs.

It was the first week of the brand new year of 2014 and here he sat on the edge of his best friend’s bed waiting for his world to come crashing down. Too scared to look at the boy sitting next to him, he stared down at his hands that were fidgeting in his lap.

Every silence filled second that passed made him more and more scared. He wished the other boy would say something; ANYTHING. He knew there would be no way he’d ever get the one thing his heart truly desired, he just wanted to come out of this with their friendship intact.

At one point he did say, “Jonghyun, I…” but that was followed by more silence. He couldn’t be upset at him though. He couldn’t imagine how awkward it would feel to have your straight best friend confess that he’s in love with you. He knew it was a bad spot he put the boy in but he was ready for the rejection that would come from it.

But waiting to hear the rejection was driving him crazy so he took a deep breath, stood up and turned to face his friend, “Look hyung, I’m sorry okay! I mean………I just…………I wanted to be honest with you! I……” he could feel himself trembling inside as he forced himself to look into Changhyun’s beautiful brown eyes.

He really hoped Changhyun couldn’t see the tears he was fighting to hold back.

“I’m sorry. Please don’t hate me.” He lost the fight.

“Jonghyun, come here.” Changhyun gently grabbed his hand and pulled him until he was sitting back on the bed.

“Look,” he started as he put an arm around the maknae’s shoulder, “how you feel is not something you have any control over so don’t apologize for it.”

Jonghyun nodded slowly as he used his sleeves to wipe his face. Changhyun’s kindness and understand was making him feel more emotional instead of calming him down.

“And, having somebody love you isn’t exactly the worst thing that could happen to a guy. Especially when that somebody is as amazing as you.” Jonghyun would’ve smiled at the compliment if he wasn’t using every bit of his energy to calm the storm of emotions that were trying to overtake him.

“So you don’t hate me?” He sniffled, hating how much of a child he sounded like at that moment.

“Jonghyun-ah, look at me,” he turned to once again look his friend in the eyes (which almost made him lose it again), “you’re my best friend. I could never hate you.” Changhyun said with the most compassionate and sincere look on his flawless face.

Just then Chanhee had called them for dinner so Changhyun went ahead as he took a few moments to get himself together.

Changhyun’s words did nothing to placate him. Everything was ruined in his mind and he had no idea how to fix it.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Changhyun seemed normal. Too normal. Like a forced type of normal. Something had to be up. It had that he was just pretending to not be freaked out so that his friend wouldn’t feel bad.

The thought of the other being uncomfortable due to his romantic feelings for him made him sick inside.

In his mind there was only one way to make this better. Total avoidance. He needed to give Changhyun space and lots of it. For his sake only of course and not at all because being alone with him now scared him to death.

So at fan signings he made sure that he was quick to pick a seat at the end with another member sitting next to him. He got a few weird looks from a few of them (plus a confused look from Changhyun) but he knew it was from the best.

He was sure the eldest maknae wouldn’t want to participate in their nightly ritual of joking around before bedtime anymore so he made sure that when Changhyun came to bed he was already laying down with the covers pulled over his head. Or he just wouldn’t come in there until the other boy was already sleeping. This sometimes led to him sleeping on the couch.

He knew he had to be extra careful especially after the incident when he walked into their room and Changhyun was changing his shirt. Sure, it was something innocent that all of them had done around each other. Heck, a lot of the time they practically walked around naked and didn’t care. But because of the situation, he bolted from the room and the dorm and ended up hiding in their company’s dance practice room until he HAD to go home.

There were other things like making excuses to not go places with his best friend and secretly asking their manager to pair him with someone else when they had to stay at a hotel.

At this point the others were starting to notice something was up. The elders of the group thought about getting involved but they decided to give it a while hoping that whatever it was they could work out themselves.

Another day came where the youngest found himself one of the few group members with no individual schedule to attend to. So he did some dancing in their studio, took a couple selcas, and wandered around nowhere in particular while trying to stay hidden from fans. Before he knew it a day had been wasted away and it was time to go home.

When he got back he was greeted with a smack across the back of his head for being out so late and a plate of hot pepperoni pizza which he took to his room to eat. Daniel was still out and to his relief so was Changhyun. About an hour and a half later the bedroom door opened and in walked a very tired looking Changhyun.

“Hey,” he greeted him.

“Hey,” he returned the greeting as he looked down at his plate of crumbs.

The boy threw his jacket on his bed and turned to face his friend. He was waiting for a follow-up question or some kind of commentary but there was only silence and he frowned.

After a few more seconds of nothing he thought he’d go and take the initiative, “So what did you do today?”

“Um, nothing much. Hey I’m gonna go see what’s on tv.” And with that he got up with his plate and left the room. Leaving Changhyun feeling like he did when he was 7 and nobody picked him for their soccer game. Or when he was 8 and his parents got mixed up on who would pick him up for school so he sat at the curb feeling like everybody forgot him for 4 hours.

Jonghyun tossed his plate in the sink and plopped on the couch ignoring the weird looks the others were giving him.

“Should we say something?” Chanhee whispered in Minsoo’s ear.

“Nah, give it a little more time, I’m sure they’ll work it out.” The leader replied to him.

Changhyun let out an exasperated sigh and went to go take a shower. He thought everything was okay with them the day Jonghyun confessed; so what was going on? He replayed in his head that day over and over and yet still didn’t understand what had gone wrong.

Instead of feeling relaxed from the hot shower he was only tenser. He had had it to be honest and decided that if nothing was going to change on its own, he’d make it.

After getting dressed he went into the living room to see his roommate playing a video game with Byunghyun.

He tapped him on the shoulder, “Jonghyun-ah, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Not now hyung, I’m busy.” He said without looking up at him.

Changhyun gritted his teeth and took a deep breath to calm himself as he tapped him again, “I REALLY need to talk to you like right now PLEASE.”

Jonghyun tensed up, “Hyung, I’m busy okay? Later.” He tried to say as nonchalantly as possible.

That was it. Changhyun grabbed the controller out of his hand and threw it on the floor. He then grabbed a fistful of the boy’s hoodie yanking him up from the couch and dragging him towards their room.

Minsoo took the maknae’s place on the couch and picked up the PS3 controller and glanced over at the vocalist with a smirk on his face, “See I told you.” Earning a snort from Chanhee.

After successfully dragging his friend to their bedroom, he pushed him inside and slammed their door shut.

Jonghyun stood there stunned. He’d never seen the boy that upset before and also he didn’t realize he possessed that kind of strength.

When he turned to face him the look on his face made him want to cry and throw up at the same time. It was pain; pain that he knew he was the cause of.

He slowly walked closer until was right in front of him, “Look,” he paused for a moment as he gathered the words in his head, “I’m sorry, that when you told me what you told me that day my reaction wasn’t to reciprocate your feelings. I wish I could’ve but I couldn’t. I’m sorry okay! You took me by surprise and I didn’t want to hurt you, but I didn’t know what else to say!” Changhyun was almost yelling by this point and it almost scared the younger because he’d never seen him like this before, “What exactly did I do wrong? I need to know! Please tell me so I can fix this!”

“Hyung, you didn’t do anything wrong!”

“Then why are you angry at me Jonghyun? Why? You won’t look at me or talk to me or anything?”

“I’m not angry at you hyung, I swear I’m not!!!” He was almost yelling now.

“Well what the fuck is it then?”

“I don’t know I just….” He trailed off and angrily raked his fingers through his head as he paced around for a second before letting his body fall back on his bed.

“WELL?”

“I just, thought that, I dunno, after everything that happened, maybe I needed to be away from you for a while.”

“Oh, well if you needed some space then why didn’t you just tell me?” Hurt evident in his voice.

Jonghyun groaned in frustration and threw his hands over his face, “No no no not like that! I mean I thought maybe that’s what YOU wanted.”

“Why would I want that?” He said quietly as he sat down on the edge of the maknae’s bed.

“I dunno, I guess to process everything. Maybe I thought you might feel kinda awkward or uncomfortable around me or something.”

Changhyun sighed and fell back on the bed. Jonghyun peeked through his fingers at him. He was looking at him. The older reached over and gently pulled his hand away and they just stared at each other for a while before a smile spread across his face. Jonghyun slightly smiled as well.

“You’re, such a dumbass.” He said to the maknae.

“I know. I guess………I guess I was just scared. I’m sorry Changhyun.”

“It’s okay. Just, talk to me next time okay?” The other nodded in response.

Changhyun sat up a bit and scooted closer to him. He laid his head on Jonghyun’s muscular chest throwing an arm around his waist and one of his legs over his.

“Mmmmm,” he hummed, “I feel so awkward and uncomfortable right now.”

Jonghyun let out a loud laugh and wrapped one of his own arms around his also laughing hyung.

Total avoidance; NOT a good idea (so he came to realize). Maybe the elders in Teen Top had given him good advice after all. Not that he’d ever tell them that.


	2. Week 2

Everything seemed normal in Jonghyun’s world. Actually normal, unlike before. Well, normal despite the small fact of him being in love with his best friend. And despite the small fact that the both of them are straight (at least he thought he was). And despite being a part of an extremely popular (at least he hoped they were) pop group and always having cameras in his face. Everything was normal. At least that’s what he told himself.

He was no longer avoiding Changhyun, and the other had yet to show any signs of being uncomfortable or awkward around him. This should obviously mean that everything was now fine.

Except for the way he caught himself staring at the boy’s lips one night in their room as he was reading him some comments from their fan cafe.

“Jonghyun-ah, were you even listening to me?” The boy furrowed his eyebrows at the maknae.

“Oh, um....sorry hyung. I kinda zoned out for a moment.” He said looking down, a slight red tint covering his cheeks.

Changhyun didn’t seem to notice, “Okay, whatever.” He rolled his eyes and took his iPad with him as he left to find someone that would pay attention to him.

Jonghyun groaned in frustration as he fell facedown onto his pillow.

Things would never be truly normal again until he somehow got over his feelings. He wasn’t exactly sure how a person could make themself un-love someone. Unless Changhyun magically turned himself into a selfish, self-centered, cold, murderous, jerk overnight. But sadly, Jonghyun knew that wasn’t happening anytime soon. Changhyun was the same person he’d always been since day one, yet somehow managed to get even more amazing day by day. Jonghyun hated it. He loved it. He hated that he loved it.

How can your feelings for somebody diminish when you’re around them 24/7? Every day there was his smile, his beautiful voice, his cute laugh, his soft hair, his porcelain skin.....it was too much. Too much that Jonghyun often had to hit himself in the face with a magazine or hold a freshly cut onion to his eyes to steer his mind clear of the inappropriateness his brain was attempting to conjure up.

As he turned over onto his back the realization hit him of what he had to do. The only thing he could think of was to just not be around the boy as much. And no it wasn’t avoidance like before. He made sure to convince himself that it was not the same thing.

He knew it would be hard but there had to be some way to do this. Out of sight, out of mind right?

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Avoiding someone while not really avoiding them was hard. But Jonghyun knew if he played it casually enough, he could make it work.

He started off by tagging along with whatever activities the other members were involved in. Like going to the studio with Minsoo and tagging along at a movie date with Byunghyun and Chanhee (which got very awkward when they started flirting in front of him).

“Hey hyung!” He caught Daniel putting his jacket on by the front door, getting ready to leave to shoot his new drama, “Can I go with you?”

“Why?” The boy had never asked to tag along at any other shooting; he didn’t understand why he was doing it now.

“Just curious I guess. Plus, I’m sure I might learn something I’ll need if I ever get cast for anything.”

“Okay I guess. But hurry up; I’m leaving in five minutes!!”

Jonghyun happily skipped to his room to grab his iPod, phone, and jacket.

“Where are you going?” Changhyun asked putting down the book he was reading.

“I’m going to watch Daniel hyung shoot for his drama.”

Changhyun didn’t say anything. He only picked his book back up and continued reading.

Jonghyun frowned at his lack of response, “I’ll see you later hyung.”

“Yeah sure.” He replied without looking up.

Once Jonghyun grabbed all he needed he left and made his way to van where Daniel and their manager were already waiting for him.

As they pulled off his mind wandered to the exact thing he was trying not to think about. Something about him was off. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was, but something was there.

He shrugged it off and plugged his earbuds into his iPod and tried to focus on their destination.

Maybe Changhyun was just jealous. What else could it have been?

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

It was evening when the vocal line returned home from their recording of Immortal Song. The three boys all groaned with exhaustion as they dragged their tired bodies through the front door.

“Is everyone gone?” Changhyun asked after not seeing or hearing any of the other members when they got in.

“I don’t know. Let me text Minsoo hyung.” Daniel said as he flopped down on the cough and texted their leader on the phone. The other two took the seats on either side of him, staring at his phone as they waited for a reply.

It wasn’t long before it chimed and Daniel read the message out loud, “Minsoo hyung and Byunghun hyung were at the studio but they left now and are gonna pick up some take-out before coming home.”

“Oh thank GOD!” Chanhee exclaimed, “Now I don’t have to cook for you greedy little brats!”

“Hey! Who are you calling a brat?” Daniel shot back at him with a frown on his face.

“You.......BRAT!” And with that Daniel tackled him, playfully throwing punches at his chest as the elder swung at him with a throw pillow.

Changhyun chuckled at his hyung’s play fight as he rose to venture toward his bedroom.

The lights were off when he got there and when he flipped the switch, much to his dismay he was greeted with an empty room. Sighing to himself he left to take a shower.

He thought about texting Jonghyun but decided he’d wait until he came back with the others to talk to him. But later on when they finally did come back, they came without him. And nobody mentioned his whereabouts as they ate dinner which made him come to the realization that he was the only one left out of knowing whatever plans he had for that evening.

After dinner the others went and occupied themselves with various activities yet all Changhyun did was mope around in his room and constantly check his phone. He badly wanted to know where his roommate was and what he was doing. But he wasn’t going to be nosey enough to actually ask.

Finally, a few hours after everyone had gone to bed, his bedroom door slowly creaked open and in walked the maknae he’d spent hours waiting for.

“Oh, hey hyung. Did I wake you?” He said, noticing that his friend was still up.

“No.” Changhyun replied sitting up in his bed, “Where were you?”

“We ran into Rokhyun hyung and Jonghwan hyung at the studio and we ended up hanging out for the rest of the day. It was really fun.” He explained as he changed into his pj’s.

“Oh.” Was all the other boy could say to him.

“How did it go at Immortal Song?”

“Fine.” Changhyun said saying back down and turning on his side with his back facing Jonghyun.

Jonghyun was taken aback at the sternness in the other’s voice, “Is something wrong?”

“Goodnight Jonghyun.”

Jonghyun was stunned. Changhyun was never that short with him and never talked to him in that tone of voice. But he figured it was probably nothing. Changhyun probably had a long tiring day and was annoyed when he came in late and woke him up. What else could it be?

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Jonghyun had no idea what Changhyun’s problem was. The boy was being distant towards him now and he didn’t know what he had done to cause it. His replies to him were short and emotionless and there was no eye contact whenever he did speak to him.

Now, it wasn’t unlike Changhyun to get moody. It happened whenever he was sleep deprived or stressed, so Jonghyun assumed that was the issue here.

He made a silent wish that he could cheer the boy up from whatever he was going through as he leaned back in the corner of the elevator he was currently in and watched the numbers illuminate on each floor it passed. After reaching his chosen floor he walked down the short hallway not paying much attention to the door numbers (they practically lived at TOP media, he could find his way around there in his sleep).

He stopped outside his destination and listened at the door. The most beautiful sound (in his opinion) could be heard coming from inside and everything inside him melted into a puddle. Changhyun was inside working with his vocal coach to strengthen his voice for his next concert solo.

Jonghyun loved hearing the boy sing. So much that he often wished he could ask him to sing him to sleep at night.

He stayed outside the door until it became quiet for a good number of minutes. Then he turned the knob and opened it hoping he wouldn’t be interrupting anything important. But to his luck it seemed they were on a break. Changhyun was sitting on a small couch rubbing his temples with his fingers while the coach was on his phone on the other side of the room.

“Hey hyung!” The younger said with a small wave.

The other looked up at him with an annoyed look on his face, “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I um came to check on you. And to um...well...” The other furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as his friend stumbled over his words.

“What’s that?” Changhyun pointed to a thermos that was in maknae’s hands.

“Oh yeah! Here!” He handed it to him, “I wanted to bring you some hot tea since I knew you’d be using your voice a lot today.” He felt himself blushing and he didn’t know why.

Changhyun’s expression softened as he looked down at the stainless steel insulated cup in his hands. He popped the cap on it and breathed in the soothing aroma from the steam that wafted from the opening.

“It’s eucalyptus; and I put some honey in it.” He explained.

“You came all the way here just to give me this?”

“Well, yeah I just thought you might need it.” Jonghyun said, his voice trailing off at the end.

A small smile spread across the other boy’s face making Jonghyun’s pulse speed up. It was the first time he had smiled at him in days.

“Thank you.” He said to him.

“No problem hyung. I’ll um...see you at home.” And with that he quickly left, his legs feeling like they were made of jelly. Jonghyun realized that it didn’t take spending much time with the other for all his senses to be thrown out of whack. He needed to find himself a distraction and he needed it soon.

 

~~~~~~~~~

 

Changhyun smiled to himself as he looked at the empty mug in his hands. He felt happier than he had felt in days and was anxious to get home. He sighed to himself as he wondered if everything he had been thinking was all in his head. He knew that he had a tendency to take things more seriously than necessary so maybe it was all nothing after all.

The van he was riding in came to a stop and he said a quick bye to his manager before sprinting inside Teen Top’s dorm. After a brief conversation with Niel and Chanhee about his vocal lessons he made his way to his shared bedroom, and opened the door.

His high spirits immediately fell when he saw his roommate spraying cologne on himself as he wore a button up dress shirt and a leather jacket.

“Where are you going now?” He said a little louder than necessary.

Jonghyun jumped a little, his back was turned and he hadn’t noticed he wasn’t alone, “Oh um, I’m going out with Insoo hyung.”

Changhyun felt his chest tighten, “Going out with Insoo hyung?” He repeated what the other boy had just said to him.

“Yeah, we never get to hang out much anymore so since neither of us are busy tonight we’re gonna go see a movie and maybe get something to eat after.” He said casually. But he frowned when he noticed the other was just standing there staring at him, “What?”

“Nothing. Just.....have a good time.” He said through gritted teeth as he left, slamming the bedroom door behind him. He stormed out the front door and did the same to that one as well.

As Changhyun slowly walked down the street with his hands in his pockets and his head hanging down, he realized that everything wasn’t just in his head after all.

And as Jonghyun stood in their bedroom, in shock over the way the other stormed out, he realized that he may have once again done something wrong.


	3. Week 3

Changhyun was having a bad day. It started after he had gone to get his hair done for a magazine photoshoot, which was followed by him getting caught in the rain ruining two hours of work the stylist had done on him. Then after a delay due to traffic he went back and by the time he got to where the shoot was taking place he was two hours late. The day got even better when he went to practice his vocals and strained his voice, leaving him unable to mutter more than a few squeaks and a whisper here and there.

Just when he thought the nightmare of a day was over he was once again drenched in a sudden downpour of rain and then tripped on the steps leading up to their dorm, hitting his knee on the hard concrete.

He finally managed to make it inside, being greeted with an odd look from his eldest hyung; he obviously looked as bad as he felt.

“Wow,” the elder said as he looked at the wet limping boy with a smirk, “you look like shit.”

Changhyun in turn responded with a middle finger.

“Hyung, don’t tell him that!” Chanhee scolded him.

“What? He does!”

“I know, but you don’t have to rub it in!”

Changhyun wanted badly to punch both his hyung’s in their handsome faces. But instead he decided he’d just limp to his room and have a good cry on Jonghyun’s shoulder.

But before he made it across their small living area he felt something warm being draped around his shoulders. It was a towel that Byunghun had put on him.

“Just came out the dryer!” He told him. Changhyun felt himself relax as he wrapped the warm towel around himself tighter.

“You look like hell by the way.” The younger’s eyes widened and he clenched his fist in anger. But before he could make the decision to strike, Chanhee had an arm around his shoulder and was ushering him towards their dining room table _(making sure to call the rapper a jackass along the way)_.

When in there the leader placed a mug filled with hot coco in his hands and muttered a small apology. The boy in turn just took a sip and frowned up at his hyung.

“Aw come on you’re not mad at me are you?” Chanhee snorted at him.

Changhyun’s frown turned into a glare. An unblinking glare.

“Come on Changhyunnie...” He lightly pushed at his shoulder.

“Come ooooon!” He did it again, still receiving no response.

“Come oooooooooooonnnnn!” He reached up and pinched both the boy’s cheeks making him slap his hands away as he finally broke out in a chuckle.

“I hate you.” He barely squeaked out after he took a long sip of his hot chocolate.

“Yeah yeah, I know.” He ruffled the boy’s wet hair, “You should go get out of those wet clothes and get some rest okay?” The other nodded at him.

Right before he made it to the hallway where his room was he noticed something; the lights were off.

Going back to the dining area he took another sip he managed to get out, “Where’s Jongie?”

Chanhee and Minsoo looked at each other as if they were having some kind of telepathic conversation.

“Um, well.” Minsoo scratched his head.

“He’s not here.” Chanhee said, seeing that his hyung wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.

“Where?” Changhyun asked in a barely audible voice.

There was a pause and the two looked at each other again before almost simultaneously saying “I DON’T KNOW.”

He knew it was a lie but they didn’t have to tell him where. He already knew. He shoved the mug into the leader’s hands and angrily stomped (the best he could) to his room. Without even turning the lights on he entered slamming the door behind him. He stripped off his wet clothes, threw them on the floor, and crawled into bed.

Feeling completely alone without the one person he knew would turn his horrible day around, he buried himself underneath the blanket and cried himself to sleep.

 

~~~~~~~

 

“Well look who finally came home!” Chanhee exclaimed towards Jonghyun as he sat at the kitchen table with his arms crossed in front of his chest.

“Did you have fun?” Minsoo asked the maknae with a snarky undertone in his voice.  
  


“Uh yeah.” He didn’t get why his hyung’s were having an attitude with him when he had just stepped through the door.

“How’s Changhyun? Is he feeling okay?” He asked after hanging up his coat. Byunghyun had texted him earlier about the boy’s condition and his mood and he was worried all night. But he was in the middle of plans he had made with friends so he couldn’t just bail on them.

Chanhee snorted at him in response and Minsoo rolled his eyes.

“What? What the hell did I do I just got home!” He threw his hands up in confusion.

The elders looked at each other and once again had some kind of telepathic conversation.

“If you were so concerned about Changhyunnie then why didn’t you call him? Or come home?” The blonde vocalist asked the boy.

“I was busy!” He shrugged.

“You were too busy to pick up a damn phone, yet you somehow found time to walk all the way to where he was practicing to give him tea?” Chanhee asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jonghyun went quiet for a moment, “Well, I couldn’t just bail on my friends.”

“Isn’t Changhyun your friend too?” Minsoo retorted.

“BEST friend?” Chanhee added.

“Well of course he is! But what does that have to do with anything?” He sat down across from his hyung’s.

Minsoo face planted on the table and Chanhee groaned began rubbing his temples.

“Aish, this kid.” He said to the eldest.

“Look, I’m seriously confused here. What’s going on? Why are you guys mad at me? Why is he mad at me? What the hell did I do here?!”

After another silent conversation between the two eldest, Minsoo spoke up, “Look, all I’m gonna say is that you’re a dumbass, this is all your fault, and you need to fix it!”

“I concur.” The blonde said before he got up, “Goodnight.”

“Fix it.” Minsoo repeated as he reached over to flick the boy on his forehead before leaving for his room.

“Ouch.” The maknae rubbed his abused forehead feeling more confused than ever.

When he got to his and Changhyun’s room and opened the door he was a bit shocked to see it was total darkness inside. And when he crept in he could see a tiny tuft of brown hair sticking out from underneath his blanket.

Everything about this was wrong. The boy usually left some kind of light in the room, he didn’t like total darkness. And the clothes on the floor that the maknae noticed when he came closer to his friend’s bed. Changhyun was a neat freak and his side of the room was always tidy, he never left clothes on the floor especially wet ones. And what was worst of all was how he was sleeping. Firstly he never went to bed that early. And also, the only time he ever pulled the covers over his head was when he was sad or scared.

He remembered back when they were just starting out. The boy was terrified to sleep at night because he was so used to the comfort of knowing his parents were in the next room. So everytime he’d see the covers pulled up he’d crawl in bed with him and they’d talk and joke around until they fell asleep.

Though the memory brought a smile to his face, the current situation still made his heart twist into knots.

Whatever plans he had for trying to get over his feeling for the boy went out the window. He knew the only thing that mattered at the point was to fix whatever this was, no matter what.

 

 ~~~~~~~

 

Changhyun groaned when he felt sunlight on his face. After cracking his eyes open slow enough for them to adjust to the light he reached for his phone to check the time. It was already afternoon. He had no intention of sleeping the day away and wondered why nobody had awoken him.

As the previous night replayed in his head he grimaced as he remembered that he went to bed still damp from being drenched in the rain. When he scanned the room for something close to cover himself with, he saw that the opposite side of the room was once again empty.

Sighing to himself, he slowly got out of bed and made his way to the door. Slightly opening it, he looked up and down the hallway and when he deemed the coast clear, made a beeline for the bathroom.

After a long shower he got dressed and went to see who was home. To his dismay it was nobody. There wasn’t a note of any kind left behind, and when he texted the others, he got no reply. And to make things worse the only food left in the entire kitchen was cereal and milk.

When he was done eating he settled in the living room and tried to find something to watch on tv. First he watched a few cartoons then he turned to some music program that coincidentally was talking about Teen Top’s recent success with their latest album. His heart swelled with pride as he got up to retrieve his laptop from his bedroom.

When he returned the commercials were on so he checked his email and did a few other random things. But his attention was caught when the tv host mentioned the “5 handsome men of MYNAME”. He looked up and pouted as he saw the group on the tv screen.

“They’re not THAT handsome.” He mumbled to himself, with one particular group member in mind as he did so.

As she began to talk about the group going back to Japan he made a wish through gritted teeth that they would stay there forever and angrily turned the tv off.

This day was turning out to be just as bad, if not worse than the day before.

~~~~~~~

 

Jonghyun’s arms ached as he carried an armful of bags up the stairs. Sure he was in great shape but even for him it was a strain. Relieved when he finally reached their door, he put a few bags on the ground and unlocked it.  
  


“Hey hyung!” He called out to the other who was on the couch playing video games.

“Hey.” The boy said back to him, surprised to see the younger back so soon. He got up from the couch and walked over to the dining table that the other was putting the bags on.

“What did you get?” He asked him. Jonghyun picked up one of the bags and pointed to the name on the side with a smile on his face.

Changhyun’s eyes widened in shock, “No way! You didn’t!” He grabbed the bag and opened it. Inside was a styrofoam container which held lasagna from his favorite restaurant in the whole country.

“I did!” The boy replied with a grin.

“I can’t believe you. How did you even get there? It’s practically in the next town!”

“I left really early. Took me two hours to get there. Everything’s probably cold by now though. So, sorry about that.”

“Sorry? You went through all this trouble for me and you’re sorry just because the food isn’t hot?” Changhyun said with a bemused look on his face, “Why did you even do this Jongie?”

“Well, I just wanted to cheer you up since you had such a bad day yesterday. And since, ya know...I wasn’t there for you.” He looked down.

“What’s that?” Changhyun pointed towards a different bag.

“Oh that!” The maknae picked it up and pulled out what was inside.

Changhyun nearly squealed with joy when he saw it was a boxset of his all-time favorite drama, “ARE YOU SERIOUS?!” He yelped as he took it from the other’s hands.

“Annnnd...” Jonghyun pulled out another one which Changhyun in turn snatched from him.

“Oh my God Jongie-yah I can’t believe you got this one too! I didn’t even know it was out on dvd already!” It was a new one he had been dying to see but couldn’t because of their schedules.

“Yeah well...” The maknae just smiled, happy to see the excitement on the boy’s face.

Changhyun reached out and put his hand on his friend’s arm giving it a small squeeze, “Thank you.”

Jonghyun blushed and realized he was at a total loss for words. He couldn’t never pinpoint the exact moment he realized he had feelings for his band mate/best friend, but it was at that moment he felt himself fall even harder for the gorgeous boy.

“Hey, um I’ll go heat this up so we can eat.” He was glad he thought of something distract from the moment before he slipped up and said (or did) something stupid.

“Sounds good.  Which drama do you wanna watch first?” Changhyun asked him as he helped bring the food into the kitchen. He reached for a bag that Jonghyun was about to pick up at the same time and for a brief moment their hands touched. The younger jerked his hand back and chucked nervously. Changhyun picked it up and handed it to him.

“Thanks.” He told him, avoiding eye contact.

“Um, so...wh-which one did you want to...” Changhyun started to repeat his question.

“Oh yeah, whichever. It’s your call.” He replied, hands fumbling with the food bags to untie them. The other nodded and left for the living room.

As Jonghyun started the microwave and watched the food rotate while the machine hummed, he couldn’t help but wonder if his overactive mind imagined the red tint on Changhyun’s face as he handed him the bag. And how he looked just as nervous as he felt when they had accidentally touched.

Jonghyun shook his head. It was bad enough that his feelings had grown but now his mind was conjuring up things that didn’t exist.

He knew he was screwed.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Changhyun was in pain. Not serious pain but his stomach was hurting from laughing so hard. Jonghyun had been in a crazy mood all day and had been constantly saying and doing silly things that killed him every single time.

After a long day of idol activities and dinner out, they were finally home.

Changhyun giggled as the maknae whispered something in his ear and pointed at Byunghyun.

The rapper glared at the boy, “I don’t know what you said but I’m gonna kick your ass!”

“Stand on a ladder and say that to my face hyung!” He yelled as he sprinted from the van and to their dorm being chased closely behind by the rapper.

Changhyun laughed once again as he along with the rest followed behind. Once inside he saw the two wrestling on the couch. He shook his head and continued on to the bedroom to get changed.

Not too long after the maknae ran into their room, slamming the door shut behind him. His hair and clothes a mess from the beatdown he had just suffered from his hyung.

“Some friend you are!” He said huffing and puffing, “You didn’t even try to help me!”

“Hey I’m sorry but I can’t defend you for making a short joke Jongie. I get that crap enough myself!” He laughed at his friend.

“Oh whatever.” He stuck out his tongue at Changhyun.

“Hey Jongie-ah?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you tired? Cuz um, I was wondering if you wanted to watch the rest of that drama with me tonight?”

“Yeah sure, I’d love to! I’ll go make us some popcorn after I get changed!” He grabbed a shirt and some pajama pants and left for the bathroom.

Changhyun was relieved that he didn’t change in front of him. He wasn’t sure why though. It’s something they had always done since pre-debut days. But for some reason recently it made him feel....

The sound of Jonghyun’s phone ringing from his bed across the room made him jump from his thoughts. He wondered who could be calling him at this time of the night. To his horror, his brain had thought up a certain name of a certain person from a certain group.

He badly wanted to know if it was him. An idea came to him of deleting whatever message that what’s-his-name had sent so that he wouldn’t disrupt their night of fun.

The rational part of Changhyun’s mind kicked in the moment that thought had come and scolded him for ever thinking such a thing. That was wrong and a violation of his friend’s privacy he knew it. And he knew he’d never do such a thing. But still to think it, was totally out of character for him and he was shocked that he even for a split second considered doing something like that.

He went to the dresser and grabbed the drama boxset from off the top and went to turn off the light. He opened his laptop and put in the episode that was next in line and paused it once he started up.

A few minutes later Jonghyun came in with a large bowl of popcorn and two bottles of cokes. He handed them to Changhyun and left again for a moment only to return with the clothes that he changed from. He tossed them on the edge of his bed and Changhyun shook his head at his friend’s laziness.

“So you’re not gonna hang those up or put them in the hamper?” He asked the boy.

Jonghyun just looked at him, “Have we just met?” He sarcastically asked him as he plopped down on the bed next to him. The other rolled his eyes at him.

“Start it up hyung!” He said as he shoved a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

Changhyun pushed play and nervously thought about the phone call. It wasn’t like he was Jonghyun’s answering machine so why should he tell him? But still, he felt like he was being selfish and that was very unbecoming to his character.

“Hey Jongie,” he paused the video, “your phone rang while you were gone.”

“Oh really?” He got up to grab his phone and came back to Changhyun’s bed.

Changhyun watched as he checked his messages and then sent a text, “Anyone important?” He asked as casually as he could.

“Yeah, it’s Insoo hyung.”

Changhyun gritted his teeth, “Oh. So you’re leaving then?”

Jonghyun looked at his friend and laughed, “Why would I leave when I’m already having fun with you?” He grabbed the bowl from him and reached over to re-start the video.

Changhyun sighed in relief. Leaning to rest his head on Jonghyun’s shoulder, he smiled to himself as he tried to focus on the show and not the strong arm that had gently come to rest around his waist.

 

~~~~~~~

 

“I can’t believe you’re taking me to see this. And I can’t believe I agreed to go!” Changhyun whined as he and Jonghyun left the dorm and started down the street.

“Relax hyung, we’re gonna have fun.” He said smiling over at his friend.

“No, YOU’RE gonna have fun. I’m not!”

“Oh come on now, I sat through TWO long ass dramas you wanted to see. I thought we made the deal a long time ago that we take turns when it comes to stuff like this.”

Changhyun stopped walking and a pout crossed his face, “Hey! I thought you liked those dramas!”

“Oh you big baby, yeah I liked them. But this is more of my thing.” He sighed, “Okay look, if it really bothers you THAT much then we can go see something different. I’ll just see this movie with somebody else.”

Changhyun inwardly cringed at the thought of Jonghyun going out and seeing a movie with a certain someone, “No no, that’s okay! I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?” The maknae eyed his friend suspiciously.

“Yeah I’m sure. But you’re paying right?” He asked with a smirk.

Jonghyun rolled his eyes at him, “Yeah yeah, I’m paying now can we go? It’s cold as fuck out here!” And with that they turned and continued to the movie theatre.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Two hours later the movie was over and Jonghyun was getting yelled at as they left to go back home.

“I should never have let you talk me into seeing that!! Oh my God, why the hell didn’t you warn me it was going to be that gory?” He yelled at him.

“I’m sorry hyung, I didn’t realize it was that bad!”

“Really?”

The maknae burst out in laughter, “No not really, I lied!” Earning himself a flurry of punches to the arm from the older boy.

“You asshole!” Changhyun had walked ahead of him and was at the light waiting to cross. He had his hands in the pocket of his coat and when the maknae caught up to him, he slipped his arm in the open space and linked their arms together.

“You’re lucky I’m cold cuz if I wasn’t I’d punch you in your stupid face!”

“I know hyung, I know.” He grinned as they crossed the street.

After getting home (and the maknae getting beat up by Chanhee once Changhyun complained to him), they ate dinner, watched some tv with the group and got ready for bed.

Jonghyun was last to take a shower and after he felt the need for a before bedtime snack. He met with Daniel while in the kitchen and they stayed up for a while talking and joking about this and that.

Afterwards, when he returned to his shared bedroom, the only light in the room came from a night light plugged into the wall. He looked over at his roommate and saw the covers pulled over his head. He instantly felt a small pang of guilt for once again being the reason of this action.

“Hyung? You okay?” He called out to him.

“Shut up dummy!” Came the muffled voice of the boy under the covers.

Chuckling at the insult he went to put his phone on the charger then making his way across the room, he climbed over his friend to lie in the space between him and the wall.

Changhyun pulled back the covers that had been wrapped around him so the other could get under them.

“I hate you.” He said with a pout.

“I know.”

And like many times before they talked and joked until sleep claimed them both.

 

~~~~~~~

 

Jonghyun awoke from a deep sleep when the sun’s light hit his face. He yawned and started to stretch when he realized he was touching something. Opening his eyes to his surprise he realized it was Changhyun.

Usually he left when the boy drifted off but this time he had fallen asleep right along with him. They were facing each other and his arm was around him.

The boy was so beautiful like this. He could watch him sleep forever but he knew that was not an option here. He had to get out of bed without waking him up.

But it was too late. As soon as he devised a plan of action, a pair of chocolate brown eyes opened up and looked straight at him. And to his horror he realized he had yet to move the arm he had around him.

His heart stopped and he braced himself for whatever repercussions came from his careless behavior.

But instead, he was greeted with a soft smile, “Good morning Jongie-yah.” Changhyun said, his voice still raspy from being sleep.

“Good morning hyung.” He said back with a smile of his own.

“Did you sleep well?” The boy asked him.

“Yeah, it was good. How about you?”

His sweet smile widened, “Best sleep I’ve ever had in my life!”

Jonghyun heart fluttered and he wondered how in the world he was going to convince himself again that this was all in his mind.


End file.
